Sullivan: Rutgers' victory in Pinstripe Bowl is uplifting

NEW YORK – Still dripping from the sideline shower delivered by his victorious players, Greg Schiano wound his way through the mob of red on Yankee Stadium’s transformed field, shaking hands and sharing smiles. Five weeks from one of the most disappointing losses of his tenure at Rutgers, the football coach delivered one of his most satisfying wins, a 27-13 Pinstripe Bowl decision over Iowa State that was crafted through anger, disappointment, preparation and inspiration.

A day after the men’s basketball team shocked No. 10 Florida back on campus, outlasting the heavily favored Gators in double overtime, the football team answered with a signature performance of its own, one that underscores this season’s drive to re-establish the program’s identity.

With a bruising rushing attack (Jawan Jamison was the MVP for his 27-carry, 131-yard, two-touchdown day), a dominating defense (three takeaways), game-changing special teams (another blocked field goal) and a workable quarterback yo-yo (both Chas Dodd and Gary Nova played), Rutgers found a way to end its postseason well even after it ended its regular season so badly. Young players made big plays, opening the door to a future that feels as if it’s back on the rise.

There was sophomore receiver Brandon Coleman, whose 86-yard touchdown catch from fellow sophomore Dodd cemented the final score, pushing the surging Cyclones back into the dirt and reclaiming fourth-quarter momentum for good. There was redshirt junior Khaseem Greene registering three tackles for losses before leaving the game with an ugly ankle injury, promising he’ll be back and better than ever for the final college year he already chose over the NFL.

There was the redshirt sophomore Jamison chewing up real estate and getting to the end zone. There was junior Mohamed Sanu breaking the school’s all-time receiving record (210) with six catches for 62 yards, still pondering his choice of whether to turn pro.

“It’s definitely the start of something special. We’ve got a lot of talent in this room,” Greene said in the postgame locker room, resting on crutches.

Rutgers fans have heard this story so many times before, the promise of a better future and the hope of great accomplishment yet to come. This season will long be remembered for the squandered opportunity in the regular-season finale in Connecticut, when a 40-22 loss that wasn’t even as close as the score indicated sabotaged Rutgers’ improbable shot at its first Big East title. Yet this was a team picked to finish last in the conference in a preseason poll, and if it proved anything from that Connecticut embarrassment, it is this: Anger can provide a lot of fuel.

“It was a good year, but we had our opportunity to take it to an elite level and were unable to do that,” Vallone said. “You learn from losses, you learn more from them than you do from wins. It was hard to let go of that game, I know I didn’t play well individually to help us win. We’ve still got to mature as a program and keep building.”

Schiano has learned an awful lot in his 11 years at Rutgers, but like any football coach still clawing his way to the top of the NCAA pile, has yet to find the formula for digesting the bitter pill of disappointment. His only answer is to get back to work, which in the normal course of a football season, is forced quickly upon him by a week-to-week schedule. Five weeks to wait for another game doesn’t simply prove how good he can be when armed with time – Schiano hasn’t lost a bowl game since his first one in 2005 and Rutgers’ run of five straight postseason wins is the longest active streak in the country – it shows how much he was motivated to erase what happened against the Huskies.

“Every loss affects me pretty badly; I’m not a good loser. But that one kind of hit me bad,” Schiano said. “As a football coach, when you lose a game in the season, you have no choice but to get back and get to work because you’re going to play in six days. There was no game to play. With what was at stake, that one really took its toll. But I’m proud of the way that everybody felt that way. It wasn’t just me. Our players could not wait to play a football game and you could see the focus. There was no doubt in my mind they would be ready to go.”

After a week of team activities in the city only 45 miles from the campus, Rutgers did its best to enjoy the fall from potential BCS contention to playing in a backyard bowl game. The proximity allowed their senior emotional leader Eric LeGrand, the player paralyzed in a game last season, to attend the week’s events, be at the game and celebrate with his fellow seniors in the locker room. It allowed the players to prove to themselves they could funnel disappointment into motivation.

All around their team hotel Thursday night, where the local cable system didn’t offer ESPN2, the Rutgers contingent found ways to follow what the basketball team was doing back in Piscataway. Greene was monitoring his Twitter feed. Vallone was watching the television ticker. Athletic director Tim Pernetti had a crowd around his iPad, on which his son downloaded the game. When it was over, the players knew it was their turn next.

“It goes to show what Rutgers sports is about — we fight to the end,” Greene said. “A couple good days for Rutgers.”